A Different Sky

Finished this book about Singapore. It was really slow at first, but then got a lot better in the middle. It spans from 1920s-1950s with a focus on World War 2. I had no idea about Singapore's history especially the Japanese invasion and how everything changed from being run by the British. I liked how the places mentioned are places I go to and even the same grocery stores are around! It's about 3 different families and how their lives interconnect during those years. I really haven't made a lot of Singaporean friends as we tend to always stick to the expat community when living abroad. So I really know little about their culture. However, I'm learning a lot about New Zealand's culture. 4 of our close friends are from New Zealand so every time we hang out there are always new words and phrases that we learn from each other.
Here are some I learned last night:
jandels= flip flops
chilly bin= a cooler
Well, those are the only ones I remember. I learned so many other words, sometimes it's like learning another language. Of course we talked about the difference between marmite and veggiemite. It's funny when stereotypes are so true. The best question I've been asked is "Is living in the states just like the movies?" No, of course not. Wait, yes it is. Yes, we have a prom queen, king. Yes, we have prom and everyone dresses up and takes limos. Yes, there's a big graduation party for high school. Yes, in college you have keg parties. Yes, there are fraternities and sororities. Everything is just exaggerated, but yeah it's like the movies. The other thing I'm learning about is Rugby and Aussie Rules Football. Who knew there 2 Rugby leagues and different rules for each? One of our new friends is a former pro Rugby player who is famous enough to have a wikipedia article about him. So when we watch the games with him, he knows some of the players who are still playing. It's actually a pretty entertaining game to watch. After watching a Rugby match, it's painful to sit through a NFL game b/c it's soooo slow compared to Rugby. Can't wait to visit New Zealand.